It was first of May again and the nearby village lays out its Plant Fair to gather shekels for their church. Lots of healthy little seedlings at very reasonable prices
Usually they claim to open at 10 a.m. but the locals/locusts always turn up early and queue aggressively until they break down the resolve of the organisers and are let in.
Those from further afield who turn up on time then grumble that the tables are no longer groaning with a pick of vegetation.
So this time it opened at 9a.m. this seemed to have some effect as my ma dipped out saying she couldn't be civil at that time and gave me a list.
However on our arrival at 8.5o the queue was already champing and we were let in 5 mins later. A queue of elderly obsessives is not one to gainsay.
Price of entry is steady emotional blackmail to buy several raffle tickets.
This is the resident expert and her heavy books to answer all queries. I know so little I don't even know what i should ask.
The plant trays have names and little pictures taped to the front with a hint or two as to size - that's far enough for me.
We bought some geraniums and petunias and clematis as far as i remember, one goes a little buy crazy. They are outside now still in their little pots, presumably gazing round and wondering if this is a good spot to have landed. It is raining heavily, and then not, and then heavily again - after weeks of drought; at the same time helpfully softening the soil and swishing out the pots, so all would seem promising for them to set root when it stops.
